I've read posts were both are mentioned. Is one better than the other or is it just personal preference which gets used? Maybe it depends on what is being done to the truck? Please enlighten me.

Thanks.

 

The advantage of ramps is simply that you do not need a jack to lift the vehicle - you just drive up on them. The disadvantage of ramps is that it is not always so easy to simply drive up on them. If you are by yourself, you generally have to hang out the window to line up and to see when to stop. Ramps also have a tendency to slide away on smooth surfaces when the tires first contact them, although the solid ones made from recycled tires look like they should stay put. If you are really going ape on your vehicle and you forgot to chock the set of wheels that is still on the ground / set the parking brake, etc. the vehicle can roll back down. You can only use ramps on one end of a vehicle at a time, but they are placed nicely off to the side if you are working underneath. Ramps cannot be used for brake jobs or bearing work. Vehicles that sit low or have ground effects kits may not have enough clearance to drive onto a set of ramps with crunching some bodywork.

Stands obviously require a jack, but generally are easy to set up. Stands that have legs rather than a base plate tend to sink into soft surfaces, including asphalt on a hot day. A piece of plywood can solve that problem, though. Stands are generally placed under the frame or the axle(s), and can get in the way if you are underneath. If you have four stands (and a roll-around jack) you can have all four corners raised at once. Stands let you take off the wheels for better access, brake jobs, etc.

Neither is better than the other. They both have their uses. I have four sturdy stands, a good jack and a set of ramps. All of them get used when appropriate, and all have paid for themselves in repair money saved.

I hope this helps you out.

Cheers,
Eric

 

Get quality ramps . I remember being in high school shop class when a fellow class mate had a truck on jack stands fall over while he was under it. Fortunately he was directly under an area of the truck where nothing was or I truely believe I could have watched him die that day. Jackstands are a joke, certainly not worth your life.

 

As important of a safety notice as that is, the fact of the matter is that, as detailed very nicely above, jackstands and ramps are two different tools that we use for two different jobs. When doing tires/brakes/bearings/suspension parts, ramps are not of much use. Whichever you use for a given job, you must exercise caution and common sense. But one will not suffice for all jobs.

 

I have had a car up on 4 ramps once... not a hard thing to do
I even used ramps "backwards" when my truck wasn't running and I would have had to push it uphill.
I just put them behind the front wheels and let it roll up on it while in the truck, and hit the brake, put it in park and chocked the wheels.
As for all 4 tires being on ramps... not that hard, just have to have ground clearance in front of the rear wheels.

eehoepp did a good job describing the uses for each, so I will leave it at that

I am very picky about what kind of jack stands I will use, as I do not want a car/truck falling on me

 

I have seen more ramps that have failed than jack stands. A good jack stand properly placed is far safer than a tin foil ramp. The only ramps that look any good are the ones made from used tire. With ramps you cant do break work which is probably the second most common task besides oil change.

 

I have plastic ramps

I didn't like the looks of them, but they ended up a lot more durable than the tin ones
They are honeycombed underneath and are very strong

 

I just bought some Rhino ramps. I was unsure about the plastic but they are rated at 8000 pounds. They don't slid like the metal ones and have less of an angle to climb.

 

I had a set of steel ramps collapse on me, they crumpled as I was getting out of the car. Scared the hell out of me as it wasn't a slow collapse. A year later there was a recall fix for them, by bolting a peice of metal on the bottoms from the front to the ramp part. I figured out the only thing I was using them for was oil changes and didn't need the car up that high. I made some shorter ramps out of 2 x 6's with the ends cut off at an angle and nailed together for the right highth, remember to put a stop on the ends and chock the other wheels.

 

I've heard that ramps have more accidents/deaths- usually cause cars roll off them.

 

PepBoys has ramps for 20 bucks that are plastic and rated at 8000 lbs. Honeycomed style underneath with rubber tips on the bottom to grip when you drive on them

 

i haver had my car up in the air on jackstands more times than i can count, if the stands are placed correctly the car will be more sturdy than when its sitting on the ground. when my car is up in the air i can push on it and try to shake it around and it doesnt move. ramps on the other hand i always put an 8" concrete block under it so it wont collapse when the car is on it. i have seen a lot more broken ramps than i have jackstands.

Jason

 

You can bolt or weld some metal on the end so you cant drive off the end when going up, I also put some of that non skid tape on them when puting the rear wheels up the ramp. I cut some wedges out 2x6 for lower gound clearance vehicles to get the up the ramp.

 

Never use concrete block to support a vehicle. Concrete block can shatter and drop the vehicle.

I have ramps and jacks and stands. I think it has been 5 years since I used the ramps.

 

Torque...

MOST DEFINANITLY....VERY DANGEROUS